Why I’m voting for Unity

"It wasn’t until I became a chapter leader for my school, Curtis High School, that I fully understood every member plays a vital role in making our union strong."

I grew up in a union household. From my earliest days, I was taught that the union protected workers from the abuses of management and that it was the union that enabled my father, a truck driver, to afford the middle-class lifestyle he provided for our family. In 1996, I became a NYC public school teacher and was immediately proud to be a member of the United Federation of Teachers. From the earliest days of my teaching career, I never felt scared or intimidated by administration because I knew I had the UFT protecting me. Because of these contractually guaranteed protections, I was able to grow as a teacher, and confidently advocate for myself and my students. This has allowed me to have a very rewarding career.

Early on in my career, we faced a mayor who refused to negotiate in good faith with the UFT. During this time, I met some folks from one of the caucuses opposing Unity. They were criticizing UFT Unity for what they perceived as a substandard contract. Trying to be as informed as I could be, I read through their literature and even attended a meeting to listen to their proposals. Even though I agreed that our contract wasn’t perfect, I fully understood that under the circumstances of the times we were living in we got a fair contract. The people trying to unseat UNITY offered up a lot of criticism and complaints, but they didn’t have a single concrete plan for what they would have done if they had had the power to negotiate on our behalf. Over the course of my career, we have seen our pay increase and our benefits improve, thanks to the contracts negotiated by UFT Unity.

It wasn’t until I became a chapter leader for my school, Curtis High School, that I fully understood every member plays a vital role in making our union strong. With the guidance and support from UFT leadership, our borough representatives, and our chapter organizer, my chapter has been able to organize around issues facing our school. We have empowered members to work together to make significant improvements to our school community [Demanding ‘Safe Passage’ Staten Island HS members hold walk after gun violence].

I am a proud UFT Unity member, and I’m honored to work alongside such passionate and dedicated union activists. UFT Unity has a proven track record of fighting for our members. They have the experience and the know-how to get the job done for our members. In these trying times, we must stand in UNITY to fight off the anti-labor attacks that will certainly be coming our way. That is why I’m voting for Unity in the next election.